She walks in beauty

At the lessons of literature we learn lots about English and American writers and their works. Most of my students enjoy this lyrical poem.

 

She Walks in Beauty

(Lord Byron)

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that's best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes:

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

Or softly lightens o'er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express

How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent!

This is one of my most favourite poems ever!!!!

Summer Language Camp

Summer is a great time to spend having fun. Together with that we can still devote our time to teaching English. One of the possible ways is to conduct summer language camps in your schools. It doesn't matter whether you have the opportunity to invite a native speaker of not. You can organise fun activities, games and quests for your children. Just do it in English. Speak, sing different songs, play games, have onstage performances - HAVE FUN!!!!!Last summer we had a summer language camp for the primary school children. The camp lasted two weeks. Every day was devoted to a spesific topic - sport, colours, animals, family, food, etc. We did different project works coloring pages, drawing with the crayons outside, singing songs, playing with puppets and many other fun activities. All were happy - both teachers and children.

Felting

There’s something magical about felting knits: You start with a piece of fabric that looks and feels a certain way and, by exposing it to water and agitation, finish with one that looks and feels completely different. This fascinating transformation can keep us intrigued by the process ever since.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is an American and Canadian holiday.

In Canada it is celebrated on the second Monday of October and in the USA it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It is a big family celebration and a Christian festival.

Planning the Lesson

 

Walking into a class of new students sometimes can be a daunting experience, even for an experienced teacher. 
So all teachers use lesson plans to give the class direction. 
But the lesson plan has other benefits, both for us as teachers and our students.
Some of the reasons for planning lessons include:

• allowing the teacher to time the individual components
•  providing for a logical progression of activities 
•  showing students that some time has gone into preparing their lesson
•  enabling the teacher to see whether there is a balance of activities and skills within the lesson 

Puzzle

Take part in “Puzzle” – learn English

Those who know me personally, would agree that I try to motivate my students to learn English in any possible way.

English Tenses

My Hobbies

Are you looking for handmade craft ideas for yourself or your children?

Excursion to Kyiv

Three years ago I had a very interesting project with my students of the 9th form. I asked the students to prepare the information about some of the sighgts of Kyiv in  English. I prepared the route and on a set day we took an excursion where my student were both tourist and tour-guides at the same time. The day was sunny and we had great time. Just as well we practised speaking English. Today, after all dramatic events on Maidan Nezalezhnosti and all the changes in our country there's a new look on history of Kyiv and Ukraine in general. So this year I am planning to have another excursion to Kyiv. But this time we have some other sights to visit. To give our respect to those who fought for the peaceful future of our independant country.

Travelling is great!!!

The capital of Tuscany, Florence, is one of the most beautiful places in this Italian region. Culture, art, history, cuisine, fashion and shopping, all bring their contribution to the charm of this ancient town. Michelangelo, Renaissance, art and architecture, leather coats, gold, Chianti wine are among the numerous things that can be found here.

Seeing the Music

The activity is called  “Seeing the Music”.
The aim of the lesson was to review the vocabulary about emotions and past verb forms. Also the task for the Ss was to listen to three short melodies, draw the images of what first came to their minds or the emotions which occurred while listening to the melodies.

Classroom contract

CLASSROOM RULES

I can truly say that it was the first time when I heard about classroom contract not long ago. Of course I have rules for the students which they have to follow while at my lessons , but it was totally new idea for me to write these rules as a contract.

So, I have decided to apply this idea in one of my groups. Unfortunately it is far from the beginning that I teach this group of students, so I can’t say that this is the forming stage, but I think that it is never too late to have improvement. 

Christmas Bells

              Christmas Bells

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

    I heard the bells on Christmas Day 

    Their old, familiar carols play, 

        And wild and sweet 

        The words repeat 

    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

    And thought how, as the day had come, 

    The belfries of all Christendom 

        Had rolled along 

        The unbroken song 

    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

    Till ringing, singing on its way, 

    The world revolved from night to day, 

        A voice, a chime, 

        A chant sublime 

    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

    Then from each black, accursed mouth 

    The cannon thundered in the South, 

        And with the sound 

        The carols drowned 

    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

    It was as if an earthquake rent 

    The hearth-stones of a continent, 

        And made forlorn 

        The households born 

    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

    And in despair I bowed my head; 

    "There is no peace on earth," I said; 

        "For hate is strong, 

        And mocks the song 

    Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

    Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 

    "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; 

        The Wrong shall fail, 

        The Right prevail, 

    With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Another poem that we study during the literature lessons. 

Поради батькам

Поради батькам, які самі не володіють англійською

Все більше сучасних людей прагнуть навчати дітей іноземної мови. У необхідності знання іноземної мови ніхто не сумнівається. Особливо важливим і модним вважається сьогодні вчити англійську мову. Причина такого бажання батьків зрозуміла, адже якщо раніше діти, у яких не було можливості виїхати за кордон, особливо не потребували знання іноземної мови, ситуація сьогодні сильно змінилася. Дитині потрібно знати мову, щоб дивитися фільми англійською, спілкуватися англійською по скайпу і звичайно, щоб у майбутньому влаштуватися на престижну роботу.

Running Dictation

RUNNING DICTATION

Recently I have tried a new activity at the lesson. 

We use all kinds of dictations at the lessons, but ‘running dictation’ was unknown activity for me before.

I have tried this activity with my 6^th grade Ss. They are always ready for new ideas and are very conscious in completing tasks.

I have chosen two texts (which were connected with our topic – past habits and childhood memories, using past simple and the phrase “used to”).

Fire and Ice

FIRE AND ICE

(Robert Frost)

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

Our Guests from the USA

Зустріч з професором університету Уеслейн Полом Шотсбергером

     9-10 жовтня у рамках дружньої співпраці Вишгородську спеціалізовану школу «Сузір’я» відвідав професор університету Уеслейн Пол Шотсбергер (Південна Кароліна,США). 

Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

Lesson Plan

School Subject: The Course of British Literature

Level: 10th form students

Topic: Charles Dickens

Subtopic: Dickens’s characters (Oliver Twist)

Aim:  Introduce the style of Dickens to describe his characters

Cultural and social objectives: by the end of the lesson studens will be able to express their attitude towards person's  deeds,  virtues and faults. 

Recourses used: DVD player (DVD film “Oliver Twist” by Roman Polanski , DVD player, CD player, book “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens, chapter 14 (Oxford Bookworms, stage 6, together with CD), handouts, printed pictures

 Oxford Bookworms, stage 6

 

DVD  film cover “Oliver Twist” by Roman Polanski, 2005

Halloween

Halloween is a festival that takes place on October 31. In the United States children wear costumes and masks and go trick-or-treating. Many of them carve jack-o'-lantens out of pumpkins. Fortunetelling and storytelling about ghosts and witches are popular activities.

Clothes

We started a new topic with the 7th form. Here is some useful vocabulary for men's and women's clothes and shoes, for both winter and summer.

Irregular verbs in poems and chants

Dear friends, some time ago I have found a very fun way to teach irregular verbs using poems and chants. These videos are my favourite! I hope you'll like it too. 

Thanks to the author for the genious idea!!

quick Games at the Lesson

Quick Games at Any Stage of an English Lesson

From time to time as an English teacher you might find yourself in situations when your students are tired or uninterested during the lesson.

It can derive from the lack of interest in the topic in question, or they can be simply tired of work or because of other reasons. In my opinion and based on my experiences if it is not too urgent to study the language material you deal with, it is better to give up and shake the lesson up with a game that tends to be rather relaxing and entertaining than demanding.

Here are some easy games that require hardly any or zero preparation. 

England

Great Britain is a part of the United Kingdom. Britain lies towards the northwest of Continental Europe. It is a big island encircled by around 1,000 small islands. It is located only 35 km from France. It includes Scotland, Wales and England. England is the largest of all of these. 
Tyne, Thames, Severn and Humber are significant rivers flowing through the country. 
It is the native land of great minds like Darwin, Shakespeare, Newton and the Beatles. It is also home to the world’s biggest foreign exchange market, the inventor of the hovercraft,  JK Rowling - the author of the Harry Potter books and the world’s richest football club - Manchester United. 
Continue reading for some more fascinating, interesting and fun facts about Great Britain. 

 

PowerPoint at the Lesson

Very often I use PowerPoint Presentations at my lesson.

I use them either to present new material or practise already known material (lexical or gramatical), to support the activities with visual assistance or simply to have some fun with students. Also my students make presentations as a form of projects. The best presentations are done by senior students in my Countrystudy and English Literature Lessons. 

FLEX for students

7-8 листопада 2015 року у новому тест-центрі на базі КВНЗ КОР «Академія неперервної освіти» відбулося тестування для старшокласників за програмою FLEX

 

 7-8 листопада 2015 року у новому тест-центрі на базі Комунального вищого навчального закладу Київської обласної ради «Академія неперервної освіти» відбулося тестування для старшокласників за програмою Американських Рад з міжнародної освіти «Програма обміну майбутніх лідерів» (FLEX) учнів 8-10-х класів загальноосвітніх навчальних закладів Київщини.
 

Cat - catter - the cattest

Let's have a minute of fun. I hope you like animals just as much as I do. Look at these cute and funny animals. Can you think of adjectives to describe them?

1. Do you remember the rules?  Cat - catter - the cattest!!!
                                Oh, sorry!   Small - smaller- the smallest

Reasons to learn English

4 reasons why learning English is so important